south dakota cave projects
The Black Hills of South Dakota contains two of the longest caves in the world. Jewel Cave is currently the 3rd longest at over 208 miles, and Wind Cave is the 7th longest at over 154 miles. Barometric airflow measurements suggest that what has been discovered to this point is only just the beginning. Both caves are protected and managed by the National Park Service. There are approved trip leaders and a permit process that must be followed to participate in the survey and exploration of these massive cave systems.
jewel cave
Jewel Cave is located near Custer, South Dakota on the west side of the Black Hills. The cave entrance is in Jewel Cave National Monument and all access is regulated by the National Park Service. There are three entrances to the cave, but all exploration trips begin and end at the elevator in the Visitor Center. There are currently four camps established: Southeast Camp, West Camp, Deep Camp, and Camp Holey Hell. Jewel Cave is the 2nd longest cave in the US, the 3rd longest cave in the world, and it is growing in surveyed length faster than any other cave in the country with approximately 8 miles of new passages explored and surveyed each year.
This video shows the establishment of Camp Holey Hell in the west branch of Jewel Cave during an extremely grueling 36-hour trip. This is one of the most remote cave camps anywhere in the world. This trip was taken very close to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, and many elements of JFK’s speech given at Rice University reflect the challenges and spirit of exploration felt by cavers who are pushing the boundaries of Jewel Cave.
The surveyed length of Jewel Cave surpassed 200 miles in December 2018. Only two other caves have reached this milestone. To celebrate the achievement an event was held in Custer, South Dakota to share and discuss past and present discoveries and scientific studies.
In the fall of 2018 an expedition in the west branch of Jewel Cave, based out of Deep Camp, continued the major breakthroughs below the Call of the Void pit.
The usual Jewel Cave camp lasts 4 days and requires extreme levels of efficiency in the choice and preparation of gear. This video documents some of the gear and food that are brought, and chronicles some of the new discoveries being made that are up to 4 hours of travel beyond Deep Camp.
A significant accomplishment was made in Jewel Cave during the second use of the newly established Deep Camp in the west branch of the cave. The surveyed length of the cave surpassed 300 kilometers.
Deep Camp, which is 8-10 hours of difficult travel from the elevator entrance, is now being used. The camp utilizes Hourglass Lake as a water source and exploration to the southwest is now kicked into high gear.
wind cave
Wind Cave is located near Hot Springs, South Dakota on the southern edge of the Black Hills. It is located in Wind Cave National Park. There are three entrances - the historical entrance, elevator entrance, and Snakepit. Most survey and exploration trips begin and end at the elevator, but the historical entrance is used for some objectives and when the elevator is being repaired.
Rather than return to the newly discovered Fantasyland area, the team decided to go to a large passage discovered in the mid-1990s and attempt to find a way past the western boundary of the cave in this area. The exploration beyond the Bittersweet passage proved to be unsuccessful, but more than 700 feet was surveyed.
High hopes led to the decision to take two teams out to the breakout are of Revenge Fantasy / Fantasyland. More than half a mile of new survey was added during a marathon survey session, but most of the really good walking leads shut down.
A breakout trip started in a single lead and generated 30 new leads during a 21-hour trip that netted 100 survey stations and the highest single day survey total in 28 years.
The discovery of Revenge Fantasy leads us out past the western fault boundary of Wind Cave. The partially decayed skeleton of a pine marten was discovered and later dated to 11,000 years old.
The Lunatic Fringe is an area on the western edge of Wind Cave that hasn’t been visited since 1996. The team returns to push a tight lead and makes a huge new discovery.
Two teams head to the northern edge of the Historic section of Wind Cave to push tight crawls on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
A weekend of caving and surveying in Wind Cave as volunteers for the NPS leads to the discovery of new passages and rooms.